Loyola Marymount '89-'90 season in college hoops

[fundamentals]

One of the answers Bayou Tribe gave in the Five for Friday column stirred up some memories of this squad for me. Still to me, one of the most improbable runs in the NCAA tourney. Hard to believe this took place twenty years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch#playnext=1 ... SuY3jeA2Ew

[hermanfontenot]

I never saw a team play like Loyola Marymount and never have since. Jeff Fryer just had no conscience whatsoever. They would just gas teams. They played Alabama w/Robert Horry and David Benoit in the Sweet 16 that year and the Tide would get a 3-on-1 break and pull it out and set up. Running with them was suicidal unless you were UNLV.

That was a golden era of college hoops. Guys usually stayed at least three years so you really got to know players and teams. You had Lethal Weapon 3 at Georgia Tech w/Dennis Scott, Kenny Anderson and Brian Oliver... the Duo of Doom at Clemson w/Eldon Campbell and Dale Davis... BMW at Texas w/Lance Blanks, Travis Mays and Joey Wright... MayDay at Arkansas w/Todd Day and Lee Mayberry... the Tucson Skyline at Arizona w/Brian Williams, Sean Rooks, Ed Stokes and Chris Mills... lots of characters. And teams ran in those days.

[fundamentals]

Herm, thought you might like to look at these scores

http://www.lmulions.com/sports/m-baskbl ... esult.html

[Indyan]

Thanks for posting these links. Getting to see a team like this on tv for a couple games is why I have such fond memories of the NCAA tournament as a kid. I wish I remembered more about them, but 20 years takes its toll, I suppose.

Man, I wonder what Alabama did to slow them down so much? The 45 second clock came in to effect a few years before then. Any idea where some more of their game footage can be found?

[hermanfontenot]

Man, I wonder what Alabama did to slow them down so much?

Refused to run. I mean, the Tide was literally pulling it back out and using the entire 45-second clock even when they had a 3-on-1 fast break. Loyola didn't just run on offense. They pressed on defense as well. They wanted to speed up the game on both ends. If they gave up an easy two on defense it was okay, because they'd just get three of it back on the other end, and eventually opponents would just wear down because they weren't in the kind of condition needed to play that style for 40 minutes. Alabama wouldn't play along. Even when they broke the press and had a clear path to the basket, they'd slow it up. It was a very bizarre game.

[Squints]

20 years ago today Hank collapsed and died. Above mentioned LMU/Alabama game airing right now on ESPN Classic.

[waborat]

Still get chills remembering Kimble shooting FTs lefty in the tourney...

That game is another one of those moments that you remember exactly where you were at the time

[Toxicadam]

LMU was an incredible story and an exciting team to watch. But everyone forgets that in the same tournament, Ball State (coached by Rick Majerus) made an even more incredible run and choked away a game to UNLV (eventual champions who demolished both LMU and Duke in later games.). They lost by two points and missed a last second shot.

It's still one of the greatest college games I have ever seen (especially considering how historic that UNLV team was).

[jesselamovsky]

LMU was an incredible story and an exciting team to watch. But everyone forgets that in the same tournament, Ball State (coached by Rick Majerus) made an even more incredible run and choked away a game to UNLV (eventual champions who demolished both LMU and Duke in later games.). They lost by two points and missed a last second shot.

It's still one of the greatest college games I have ever seen (especially considering how historic that UNLV team was).

Oh, I remember that Ball State team very well. I saw them in person the previous year when they played at Kent, when Rick Majerus was still the coach (Dick Hunsaker was the coach during their 1990 run, Majerus having moved on to Utah.) Tremendously physical, powerful team led by a couple of Arkansas-Little Rock transfers named Parris McCurdy and Curtis Kidd and a high-flying Muncie native named Chandler Thompson. Best MAC team I ever saw until the Trevor Huffman-Antonio Gates Kent team of 2002.

That game between UNLV and Ball State was a war. Ball State could talk trash with anyone, including UNLV, and those teams just went toe-to-toe for 40 minutes. Ball State just completely neutralized a couple of UNLV's major weapons, especially Anderson Hunt, the great shooting guard. At the end Ball State trailed 69-67 and had the ball with a chance to tie or win it. Unfortunately they couldn't get it to any of their big guns and the ball ended up in the hands of a reserve guard named Mike Spicer, who panicked and threw a lob pass into a crowd. Stacey Augmon intercepted it and the game was over.

One thing I remember was that the following year, when UNLV was undefeated, they landed in Indianapolis for the Final Four and the players were interviewed coming off the plane, and Stacey Augmon was wearing a Ball State Cardinals baseball hat. I always thought he was in some way paying tribute to the team that, to that point, had come closer to beating the Rebels than anyone for a good two years.

1990 was just an incredible Tournament, still my pick is the best of the 64-team era. So many storylines, so many characters, so many iconic teams and so many great, great games.